Fuel-reservoir.



W. H. MORAN. FUEL RESERVOIR. APPLICATION FILED we. 19, 1911 Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

WILLIAM HJMORAN, GE NEW YORK, N. Y.

FUEL-RESERVOIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 19, 1911. Serial No. 645,034.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

To all whom it may concern: ,1

"Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM H. Moran, a citizen of the United States, residing. at New York, in the county of New York: and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fuel -Reser- -voirs, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description, such as will enable .others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

- "This'invention relates to devices for supplying and delivering liquids such as oil or other hydrocarbon fluids, and with respect vto its more specific features, to oil reservoirs 'or tanks mounted on a vehicle, such as an .automobile or l iat, and adapted to supply oil to an engine on the vehicle, and more .particularly to supply oil fuel to internal combustion engines.

. One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an eflicient device of the char- :acter referred to wherein the oil may be supplied to the internal combustion engine notwithstanding various positions which may be assumed by the reservoir.

. Another object of the invention is the provision of :a' device of the character referred to, offering a simple and practical means for delivering substantially the-entire contents of the reservoir to the engine. Otherobjec ts will be in part obvious and in art pointed out hereinafter. 'Fheinvention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of'parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinaf:

. V tar setforth, and the scope of the a plica ,tionof which will be indicated in the ollow -claims.

' In .the accompanying drawing, wherein is illustrated one of various possible Mnbodiments of the invention, Figure 1 represents --in elevation a vehicle or automobile showing the fuel reservoir in position'beneath the, seat; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the fuel reservoir ipartly broken away to disclose the interior t ereof; Fig. 3 lsla .front elevation of the reservoir also partly broken away to disclose the interior thereof;- and Fig. 4 is aside view of a modified embodiment of the invention.

mSimilar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the -draW1ng.- I v 1 .Internal fcombuet on engines employed as motors for automobiles, etc., are supplied with oil fuel from a tank or reservoir mounted at a suitable and convenient position on the vehicle. The reservoir is located at a point somewhat elevated with respect to the level of the entry of the oil into the carbureter or other suitable part of the en- 7 gine, the oil being fed by gravity from the reservoir through a pipe to the engine. The

oil is discharged fromthe reservoir at a' point preferably slightly elevated above the bottom of the reservoir in order to prevent sediment from feeding to the engine, and as the vehicle travels the reservoir assumes various inclinations dependent upon the char acter of the road over which it progresses. When descending a hill, the oil in the reservoir gravitates toward the discharge opening and "if the inclination be suh'iciently great practically all of the oil in the reserv voir will be fed .to the engine. However, when the vehicle is ascending a hill the reverse operation-occurs and the oil in the reservoir .gravitates away from the outlet thereof; Consequently, when the supply of oil in the reservoir has been reduced, it often happens that when on a level, or when ascending a hill, there is such a small amount of oil .in the reservoir that it does not enter the discharge opening, or the head of oil is .so reduced that it is :insufiicient to feed -oil to the engine on account of the too great inclination of the vehicle, and, consequently,

the reservoir thereon. In order to avoid these and other objections, this inventionprovides for the feed of oil from the reseryo ir tothe .en 'le, which, to a degree, is independent 0 the inclination of the reservoir, thereby providing for the utilization.

drawing, the character a'indicates a main chamber adapted to contain a supply of oil tobe used in the engine. The character 6 indicates a second or auxiliary chamber through which the oil inchamber 0; passes on its way to the engine, and 0 indicates a pipe to conduct the oil from the auxiliary I chamber to the point where the ,oil is to be delivered. Although the chambers a and Z) vmay be arranged in any suitable manner .capable of efiecting the functions hereinutlflifil' described, the interest of simplicity and compactness of parts it is preferred to arrange the chambers clh sely adjacent each other. Accordin ly, a reservoirior tank 1 is provided; preiierably of general rectangular construction, and in the present instance, located beneath the seat of the auto mobile or other vehicle supporting the en glue to be supplied. The chambers a. and b, above referred to, are embodied in reservoir 1, the auxiliwy chamber 7) having an outlet or discharge opening 2 through which theoil passes into the pipe 0 leading to the engine, which latter is located forward oi the auxiliary chamber. partition 3 r;- tending from side to side of the reservoir divides the same into the rear main chambar a and the front auxiliary chamber 5,

above mentioned, said partition extending from the to of the reservoir toward the bottom, pre erably on an incline, and terminating short of the bottom so as to provide a passageway through. which the oil fuel may flow from one chamber to the other. In order to control the flow of oil between the chambers, an automatically operating valve is provided. l Vhile the valve may be of any suitable construction capable of accomplishing the results desired, it is preferred to provide a liap valve 4: pivotally supported in the walls of the reservoir, said valve being weighted, as by increasing its section toward the bottom, so that as the tank inclines the valve will. readily automatically open and close. Projecting upwardly from the bottom of the tank and extendin thereacross is a flange 5 having upwardly projecting portions 6, and the valve 4 is adapted to seat against the parts 5 and 6 and prevent flow of oil from the auxiliary chamber into the main chamber. Should it be desired to permit such flow, however, the valve may be opened by means of the handle 7 connected thereto and projecting outside the reservoir. It will be understood that the valve 4 is located so as to automatically leave its seat when the vehicle is descending an incline so that oil may flow from the main'chamber intojhe auxiliary chamber. This latter chamber is of such a character as to cause the oil fed from the main chamber to assume a greater depth or to have a greater discharge head than yeah? the same amount of oil in the main chamber; In the present embodiment, the auxiliary chamber is of less capacity than the main chamber, by reason of its reduced. fore and aft dimension, and when the vehicle is descending an incline oil'will flow from the inain to the auxiliary chamber, rising in the latter to a suficient heightto discharge through the outlet 2 and the pipe 0. When the vehicle assumes a level position, the valve 4 will automatically close, and the head of oil in the auxiliary chamber will be greater than it would have been had the oil been permitted. to spread throughout the two chambers. And o when the vehicle ascends an incline, a. r arer head will be maintained in t ...ry chamber than. would have re ted had the same amount oi oil. been perml to spread througl'iorn. the reservoir,

ln :niodiiied ft the tank the axis verscly of the vehicle on. This tank is (livid:

chambers by a partition 9, nd similar to the valve l is nrovided and is adapted to operate against a valve-seat similar to the construction described in conncction with the embodiment shown in other figures. llhe discharge outlet 10 in the modified form is preferably located in the head of the tank.

The usual filling plug 11 is; provided for introducing the oil into the tank, and in someinstances, an auxiliary plug 12 is'providedfor permitting the entry of oil directly into the aurti should,- ii'or any reason rthe case require it.

The operation of the device should. be clear from the above description. Assuming the tank or reservoir to be full of oil, or other liquid fuel, the head thereof will be sut'ficient to supply the engine with oil at all times consistent with the ordinary incline tions met in traveling. The valve l is so hung as to rest lightly against its seat so that should the head of oil in the maxi chamber exceed that in the auxiliary cha ber, oil will flow from the former to. the no ter. Thus, on level ground the contents of the reservoir will be delivered through the pipe 0 until the level of the oil is below the opening 2 leading to the pipe 0. In descending an incline, the valve 4 will gravitate open, and oil will flow from the main chamber to the auxiliary chamber, andsubsequent leveling of the vehicle, or a reverse inclination due to ascending an incline, will cause the valve to close and trap the oil in the auxiliary chamber. The auxilia y chamber is of such dimensions that the same amount of oil will assume a greater depth therein than in the main chamber, this-being;

fluid will flow toward the discharge opening I and provide a discharge head of liquid adjacent the opening greater than the head otherwise provided by the reservoir for the same amount of fluid.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, an oil reservoir com prising a main chamber, an auxiliary chamber having an outlet, and automatic means adapted to provide in the auxiliary chamber 3 a greater head than the main chamber for 3 iroin the main chamber to the auxiliary chamber and obstruct its return.

i. In an apparatus'of the character described, in combination, an oil reservoir comprising a main chamber, an auxiliary chamber having an outlet, and automatic means adapted to provide in the auxiliary chamber a greater headthan the main chamber for the same amount of oil, comprising apivotal weighted valve adapted to permit the flow of oil from the main chamber to the auxiliary chamber and obstruct its return.

In an apparatus of the character decribed, in combination, a reservoir providconnected main and auxiliary'chambers, nnatic means whereby as the reservoir is in one direction fluid will flow from the main to the auxiliary chamber, and a discharge head of liquid provided in the dividing the tank into connected main and auxiliary chambers, the auxiliary chamber being of less capacity than the mainchamher, a valve interposed in the connection between the main and auxiliary chambers and adapted to permit liquid to flow from the main to the auxiliary chamber and obstruct its return whereby, upon tilting the tank in the direction to cause flow of liquid from the main to the'auxiliary chamber, a head of liquid will be obtained in the auxiliary chamber greater than the head in the main chamber.

7. In an apparatus of-the character described, in combination, a tank, a partition dividing the tank into a plurality of chambers, a passageway connecting the chambers transversely of the partition, and means whereby upon tilting the tank so as to cause the flow of oil from one chamber to the other a discharge head of oil will be obtained in the chamber receiving the oil greater than the head of oil remaining in the other chamber.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a tank, an inclined partition dividing the tank into connected main and auxiliary chambers, a valve interposed in the connection between the chambers and adapted to permit liquid to flow from the main to the auxiliary chamber and obstruct its return, whereby upon tilting the tank in the direction to cause flow of liquid from the main to the auxiliary chamber a head of liquid will be obtained in the auxiliary chamber greater than the head in the main chamber.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. MORAN.

\Vitnesses:

J. W. ANDERSON, L. A. WATSON. 

